How to make perfectly roasted Brussels sprouts with garlic and ham. Learn our tricks for tender Brussels sprouts that are caramelized and delicious. Jump to the Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts Recipe or read on to see our tips for making them.
How to Roast Brussels Sprouts with Ham and Garlic
Are you a Brussels sprouts fan? We love them and especially enjoy them roasted. You just can’t beat those caramelized edges. These are easy enough for tonight since they only take about 30 minutes and would be perfect on a holiday table.
For years, we’ve been roasting them on a baking sheet (which is perfectly fine). This year, though, we stumbled across Mark Bittman’s idea to use a cast iron pan. It takes regular roasted brussels sprouts to a whole new level and is still just as simple to make.
In addition to using a cast iron pan, our recipe uses cubed ham as well as whole garlic cloves.
This recipe has a two-steps:
- First, the sprouts are browned on top of the stove in a cast iron pan.
- Then, we transfer the sprouts and pan to the oven to finish cooking.
All of the steps below show us using a cast iron pan. If you don’t have one a heavy oven-safe pan would work. Or, you can brown the sprouts on the stove first then transfer them to a baking sheet along with the ham and garlic.
Browning the Sprouts on the Stove — After trimming the ends of the Brussels sprouts, we cut them in half from top to bottom. We place them cut side down into a hot oiled pan. Season with salt and pepper then scatter cubed ham and garlic cloves on top. After a few minutes, the underneath of the sprouts will be browned.
Finishing the Sprouts in the Oven — Slide the pan into a hot oven. Every five minutes we’ll give everything a stir and after 10 to 15 minutes the sprouts are tender and caramelized. The ham has rendered and the garlic is soft and sweet.
Right after taking the pan out of the oven, we scatter a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar on top to brighten the flavors up a little. We do this to potatoes for potato salad — it’s an awesome trick to have up your sleeve.
What to Serve These With
- Simple Whole Roasted Chicken — How to perfectly roast a whole chicken with aromatic lemon and garlic. With our easy recipe, the chicken stays juicy and becomes ultra-flavorful.
- Easy Sour Cream Baked Salmon — How to make moist and tender baked salmon topped with a creamy sour cream crust in less than 30 minutes.
- Garlic Herb Roasted Turkey Breast — How to make perfectly juicy oven-roasted turkey breast with garlic, herbs, and orange. We love roasting turkey breast. It’s much quicker to make than a whole turkey, but will still easily serve six.
For more easy side dish recipes, check out our Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash, our Coconut Oil Roasted Sweet Potatoes, these Easy Oven Roasted Vegetables and our 10-Minute Lemon Garlic Sautéed Bok Choy.
Recipe updated, originally posted November 2015. Since posting this in 2015, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne
Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Ham
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Learn our tricks for tender roasted Brussels sprouts that are caramelized and delicious. The ham is optional, here. Cubed turkey, bacon, turkey bacon or even tofu would be great here. (If you do use bacon, we suggest rendering some of the fat first instead of adding raw bacon to the tops of the sprouts. This way, you can use some of the rendered bacon fat instead of the olive oil called for in the recipe below). By the way, you can see from our photos that we aren’t afraid to allow the sprouts to get pretty dark in color. We really enjoy them this way, but you can always hold back a little if you prefer.
You Will Need
1 pound brussels sprouts (15 to 20 sprouts)
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces thick-cut ham, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 medium cloves garlic or 3 large cloves that have been halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
1Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2Trim away the brown ends of the brussels sprouts and discard any yellow outer leaves. Slice brussels sprouts in half top to bottom.
3Heat oil in a cast-iron pan over medium heat until it shimmers. Place brussels sprouts cut side down in one layer in the pan. If a few don’t fit, put them around the edge of the pan. Toss garlic and the cubed ham on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4Cook until the sprouts begin to brown on the bottom. If some of the sprouts on the outer edge are not becoming brown, rotate them with sprouts in the middle of the pan (where it is hottest). Once the sprouts are mostly browned on the bottom, transfer to the oven and roast, stirring the brussels sprouts, garlic and ham every 5 minutes, until the sprouts are browned and tender; 10 to 20 minutes.
5Taste a sprout and add more salt and pepper if needed. Stir in the apple cider vinegar and serve.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- We love using Niman Ranch’s Applewood Smoked Uncured Ham Steaks for this. If you can find it, try it — we just love it.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA Supertracker recipe calculator to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Loved this! I will definitely be making this again. Thinking of adding a couple of parboiled diced potatoes next time!
These look so delicious…the browning and the ham puts them over the top in flavor department!
I’m a total Brussels sprouts fan! Love this…and the crispy edges too!
Ahhhh, the wonders of a cast iron skillet. I love the bit of apple cider vinegar – need to give this a try!
I absolutely adore roasted Brussels sprouts, but love the idea of pairing them with ham even more. What a great autumn dish!
Just look at that gorgeous color you got on those Brussels Sprouts! I love adding bacon in mine, but I’ve never thought to try ham (DUH, right?). This is such a perfect winter side!